First grade field trip

I just love volunteering for the girls' school. Despite that it means I have to take time off work (thankful for awesome coworkers), getting to hang out with the girls in their "home away from home", is just so fun! Recently I was able to help chaperone Sidney's class trip to a local nature center. She adored my presence as much as I loved being there! 

It was rainy and dreary but we made the best of it and the kids explored nature from both inside and out. We learned all sorts of neat facts...like why do worms come out when it rains? Answer: so they don't flood out and drown. Who knew?! We saw geese and muskrat, snakes and leeches! 

The kids got to touch several animals and this picture of Sidney feeling the salamander is my favorite! She squealed "it's slimy!!" and all the kiddos laughed. 

Thanks for letting me be a part of your fun field trip Sidney Marie! 

Lincoln's music

So while I know that Lincoln enjoys music, with the way that he likes to sing and dance at home; he will, at other times, tell me to turn off the music in the car. I sense he just wants to hear himself talk, or concentrate on the next big truck to drive by. But tonight, tonight was different. As we drove home from Regan's volleyball game, the Haley Reinhart song "I can't help falling in love" came on. And Lincoln requested for me to "turn up mommy", to which I thought he said turn off. Then he followed up with "my song"...and "yike it" as he got a gentle, melancholy look on his face and tried to mouth the words.

I honestly melted. Right there in the driver's seat, I turned into a puddle. We listened to the entire song though were long pulled into the garage. He loved every beat of the song, and loved it more as I sang along. 

Oh sweet baby boy, you sure do have me wrapped tight around your tiny finger. I love you! 

Lincoln lately

 Lincolns is the featured child this month in his classroom at school. We answered a few questions for them and added some fun pictures to their growing collection for his wall display. For the most part, he loves school (Ryan normally does drop off and it goes smooth...occasionally I have to drop off and let's just say he's not a fan of me walking out without him). Beyond that, he really is happy there. 

We are blessed that they take his allergies seriously as well as love him up like we do. With nicer weather upon us, he is loving more outdoor play. He has several favorite friends, and then others that clearly pick on him. 

Man times a day, he will tell us that "kukas naughty. Bite me. Push (my) back." All which are very likely to be true. He's been bit, scratched, hit, pushed, to the point where his teachers are working on him standing up for himself. Ryan takes it a step further and wants to tell him to push Lukas back! But he doesn't, our sweet boy! 

His big brown eyes and curly locks seem to melt the hearts of the staff as he struts in and out everyday, left arm just a swinging! 

Within the next month he will make the transition to the next room (is it really titled the preschool room?!) where they will continue to explore the outdoors (but have access to an even larger playground and more push toys), as well as keep on singing, learning and having fun! 

We love you Lincoln Ryan. 

Goldys 5K

Several months ago, Ryan suggested we sign up for Goldy's 5K at the U of M. Sort of a bucket list thing for him, never having run a true "race" before (note: these aren't races we are ever expecting to win....like ever! the leader came in under 20 minutes!). Like a good sport, I agreed and he signed us up. Fast forward several weeks, and I'm still dealing with a slipped disc in my back and then landed on my back off Regan's hoover board. Fast forward a few more weeks and Ryan landed flat on his back off Regan's hoover board (those suckers are dangerous!).

But as the saying goes, the show must go on! And so, we ran.

It was a complete nightmare trying to get to the U that cool Saturday morning and we nearly missed the start, arriving with just 10 minutes to spare. We hopped between the gates and off we went darting around the University campus and taking in the sounds of over 3,000 people beside us running the 5K (there was another 3,0000 doing the 10 mile run). I have to say, there is something about that sound. Something that gets into your blood and make you want to do it again and again.

We finished on the field of TCF stadium which was pretty darn cool. And as Ryan found me after he finished, he commented "that was fun!, let's do another one!". Not exactly what I thought he was going to say.....I suspect there are going to more 5K's in our future.

Ice Show: Red Carpet 2016

Our girls are involved in a variety of activities. They love them all and we have a hard time telling them "no" when it comes to sign-ups. So when they asked again to sign up for the local ice show, we obliged. It was only 3 practices and nothing grand, but they have so much fun so we go along for the ride. This club produces a number of pretty amazing skaters and the girls realize that they need to consider joining the club for next year if they want to make any improvements in their skating abilities. It's certainly the closest (in proximity) for practices, but I'm not so sure they are ready for some odd ice time slots! We'll see what they decide in the coming months.

Click HERE for a link to watch Sidney, and HERE for Regan.